9d Diversity in Contracting memo

COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM                        Item No.          9d 
BRIEFING ITEM                            Date of Meeting       June 12, 2018 
DATE:     May 4, 2018 
TO:        Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director 
FROM:    Teresa Delicino, Director, Small Business Development Department 
Nora Huey, Director, Central Procurement Office 
Dave McFadden, Managing Director, Economic Development 
SUBJECT:  Diversity In Contracting Program 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
On January 9, 2018, Port Commissioners adopted a new Diversity in Contracting policy,
Resolution 3737 that drives equity in Port contracting.  The new policy addresses historical
disparities  in  women  and  minority  business  enterprise  (WMBE)  participation  in  Port
contracting. 
The Resolution required that the Executive Director shall "within 120 days of passage of this
policy directive, develop a Diversity in Contracting Program that identifies affirmative efforts to
afford women and minority businesses the maximum practicable opportunity to meaningfully
participate on Port contracts and to achieve the Port-wide goals." This briefing updates the
Commission on work done to develop the program and implement Resolution 3737, the Port's
new Diversity in Contracting (DIC) policy.
Staff has taken significant steps to develop the DIC program. At the same time, there are still
some challenges and issues needing resolution as we implement the new program over the
next 6-12 months. 
The Port Commission established utilization goals for both the amount of contracting dollars
paid to WMBE firms as well as the number of WMBE firms under contract to the Port: 
5 year goals: 
1)  Triple the number of WMBE firms that contract with the Port 
2)  Increase to 15% the percentage of dollars spent on WMBE contracts 
This new policy also directs the establishment of: 
Executive level accountability that drives performance across the Port
Port-wide goal setting and reporting processes, requiring Divisions/Departments to
establish Annual WMBE Plans that set aspirational goals and performance targets 
Clear lines of responsibility and accountability for implementation with designated
WMBE liaisons for each division 
Template revised September 22, 2016; formatting update October 19, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. __9d__                             Page 2 of 6 
Meeting Date: June 12, 2018 
Enhanced compliance and tracking of key performance objectives and incorporation of 
WMBE goals into the Port's Long Range Plan 
Categories of contracts where inclusion plans and other tools will be used 
Implementation and monitoring procedures to ensure prompt payment and change
order processes 
Expanded technical assistance for WMBE firms, coordination with external partners, and
support for internal training to Port staff 
Organization and Accountability: 
Clear lines of responsibility are necessary to ensure smooth and consistent implementation of
the Diversity in Contracting policy. Structural alignment and articulation of job functions that
support tasks and roles is necessary for the success of this effort. As these roles and
responsibilities become further detailed, recommendations to organizational structure and
staff resources will follow, working with executive leadership to finalize roles and
responsibilities, ownership and accountability, and address budgetary needs for new resources. 
Completed                     Actions Remaining                       Timeline 
Discussed alignment with        Organizational charts and ownership            Q3 2018 
broader Port equity work            structure defined 
Evaluated organization models   Identify staff and resources needed for          Q3 2018 
at City of Seattle and other           success 
jurisdictions 
Internal training for Port leadership on           Q4 2018 
Completed evaluation of short      program, goals and requirements 
term staffing needs 
Management responsibilities and               Q4 2018 
accountability defined 

Division Goal Setting and Annual Plans: 
To establish aspirational goals by Division, "divisions" needed to be clarified and a strategy
developed to ensure goal setting and reporting would align systematically. By utilizing existing
processes, divisions can develop their Annual Plan (spend projections and engagement
strategies) during the annual budget forecasting process. Division liaisons will provide critical
support in establishing aspirational goals and developing engagement strategies. Development
of data tracking and dashboard tools, aggregated and disaggregated by division and for the Port
overall, has been initiated (see Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation below) 


Template revised September 22, 2016. 
Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. __9d__                             Page 3 of 6 
Meeting Date: June 12, 2018 

Completed                      Actions Remaining                   Timeline 
Establish standardized goal setting            July 2018 
methods and initiate internal
"Divisions" have been defined       education 
Spending tables and tracking     Identify division liaisons and              Aug. - Oct. 2018 
tools are aligned with Divisions       resources to support goal setting and
Initiated process to link              inclusion efforts 
aspirational goal setting to        Divisions/Departments establish DIC            Q3 2018 
budget process                     goals as part of budget process 
Annual Plans and Port-Wide goals
submitted                                   Q4 2018 

Jan.  Feb. 2019 
Outreach, Supplier Diversity and Technical Assistance: 
Development of an improved Supplier Database and Procurement System was approved by
Commission in 2017 and is currently under development. This system will enable collection of
demographic data (gender, race, etc.) and business data of vendors. Searchable and accessible
to internal and external audiences the system will become a vehicle for identification of
available firms, providing us the means to understand and manage our suppliers.  To reach
diverse  communities,  the  Small  Business  Development  department  (SBD)  coordinates 
educational opportunities, outreach events and communications while  looking to expand
offerings in cooperation with public partners and community agencies.  Division liaisons shall
also serve to support outreach, training, technical assistance and engagement between the Port
and the business community. The development of procurement forecasting tools has enabled
us to make opportunities visible to the business community. 
Completed                     Actions Remaining                      Timeline 
Contact database and           Expand messaging and outreach               Q3 2018 
communications platform
established                        Develop collaborative offerings with          Q3 - Q4 2018 
Expanded engagement with        resource partners 
external agencies to support
supplier diversity and             Establish quarterly community                   Q4 2018 
outreach                           engagement (small business group) 
Continued development of
PortGen offerings                 Searchable database accessible                 Q1 2019 
Current and future                internally and externally 
procurement opportunities
have been made visible 
Supplier/Vendor database in
progress 

Template revised September 22, 2016. 
Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. __9d__                             Page 4 of 6 
Meeting Date: June 12, 2018 
Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation: 
Staff has made significant strides to improve data integrity. Dashboard development for
measuring utilization by division is underway which will enable quick assessment of progress
toward goals, both aggregated and disaggregated by division and for the Port overall. Aspects
of the Diversity in Contracting policy have been fully tied to the Long Range Plan as a reporting
instrument. Human Resources has identified methods to support performance and
accountability through existing tools such as EPerformance. Internal Audit is prepared to assess
program efforts in their 2019 work plan.

Completed                     Actions Remaining                      Timeline 
Spending tables and tracking     Data dashboard and monitoring tools to      Q2-Q3 2018 
tools by Department/Division        be further developed 
have been initiated 
Compliance mechanisms, prompt pay       Q2  Q3 2018 
Process defined for                and change order processes and roles to
ePerformance alignment to         be further defined 
support accountability 
Internal and external visibility                   Q3 2018 
Diversity in Contracting             mechanisms to be developed to show
elements have been tied to          progress 
the Long Range Plan 
Internal Audit to conduct programmatic        Q4 2019 
assessment 

Contracting and Inclusion Plans: 
The Central Procurement Office (CPO), working with Small Business, Legal, Capital Development 
and others, has developed a program that will implement Diversity in Contracting into
construction, consulting, and purchasing procurements. The Port has good faith belief that the
program described below is legal but recognizes there is risk that it may be challenged. This is a
completely new approach for the Port that requires development of new systems and
processes for implementation and compliance monitoring.
1. Major Construction Low Bid Procurements: As part of Contractor responsibility, Contractors
must submit an acceptable inclusion plan or they will be rejected as not responsible. For each
construction procurement, the Port will establish aspirational goals for MWBE utilization. The 
Contractor's inclusion plan may either commit to meeting the aspirational goal or provide
evidence of its affirmative efforts to use MWBE firms. Affirmative efforts mean that the bidder
has taken necessary and reasonable steps to achieve the aspirational goal; mere pro forma
efforts are not affirmative efforts. Commitment to the aspirational goal may be evidenced by
commitment to utilize certain MWBE firms for specified work and/or commitment to a
percentage of MWBE engagement in the performance of the contract. The inclusion plan will
Template revised September 22, 2016. 
Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. __9d__                             Page 5 of 6 
Meeting Date: June 12, 2018 
also identify a company representative who will address affirmative efforts during contract
performance and issues such as prompt payment to all subcontractors.
2. Consulting & Other Service Type Procurements:  The Port will establish aspirational goals for
MWBE utilization on contracts where there is a reasonable expectation of subconsulting.
Consultant will submit an inclusion plan with its proposal demonstrating commitment to
meeting the aspirational goal. Commitment to the aspirational goal may be evidenced by
commitment to utilize certain MWBE firms for specified work and/or commitment to a
percentage of MWBE engagement in the performance of the contract. The inclusion plan will
also identify a company representative who will address affirmative efforts during contract
performance and issues such as prompt payment to all subcontractors. During the evaluation
process, the Port will have the ability to discuss the inclusion plan and consultant may be given
opportunity to provide revised inclusion plan.
3. Purchasing Card (P-Card) Procurements & Direct Buys: The port has a P-Card program for
purchasing items less than $5,000. P-Card purchases are decentralized and made by individuals
throughout the Port. Direct Buys are procurements for less than $50,000. CPO is responsible
for all direct buys. 
The Port will encourage P-Card Holders and CPO Buyers to purchase items from MWBE vendors
directly. P-Card purchases and direct buy purchases are meant to be quick efficient means to
buy low dollar value items. The Port does not mandate multiple quotes; however, the port may
seek multiple quotes as a means to validate price reasonableness and maintain fiscal
responsibility. In those circumstances, the Port must buy from the lowest priced vendor,
provided items are similar quality and delivery. The Port cannot give an MWBE vendor priority 
over a lower prices non-MWBE firm.
4. Purchases Less Than $150,000. Port policy directs CPO to seek three quotes for goods and
services with a cost less than $150,000. This type of purchase is often referred to as Three
Quotes process. CPO will include MWBE vendors in the three quote process when we are
aware of qualified MWBE vendors.
Completed                     Actions Remaining                      Timeline 
Inclusion plans for
Construction and Service         Internal training on Procurement              Q3 2018 
Agreements have been            processes 
drafted 
A roll-out plan for inclusion       Internal process education on                Q3 2018 
plans has been defined              inclusion plans 
Payments for Category 1
procurements (under $50,000)   Community outreach and education           Q3 2018 
have been set to automatically
pay upon receipt                  Small and large procurements                 Q3 2018 
identified for pilot projects 
Template revised September 22, 2016. 
Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. __9d__                             Page 6 of 6 
Meeting Date: June 12, 2018 

ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING 
(1)   Presentation slides 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
January 9, 2018  Diversity in Contracting 2nd reading policy & passage of resolution 3737 
December 19, 2017  Diversity in Contracting Policy Review 
December 12, 2017 - Women and Minority Business Enterprise Policy Review 
December 5, 2017 - Women and Minority Business Enterprise Policy Review 
November 28, 2017 Women and Minority Business Enterprise Policy Review 
October 24, 2017 - Women and Minority Business Enterprise Policy Review 
July 12, 2017  Commission Budget Priorities, Building Economic Opportunity in 
Underserved Communities 
March 28, 2017  Small Business Development Update 
March 22, 2016  Small Business Utilization briefing 
December 14, 2014  Disparity Study briefing 
August 19, 2014  Small Business Utilization briefing 
January 26, 2010  Adoption of Resolution No. 3618 concerning small business utilization 










Template revised September 22, 2016. 
Template revised September 22, 2016.

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